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Tamil Nadu Health Minister Ma Subramanian announced on Wednesday, August 27, that the health department has commenced the process of taking action against the district authorisation committee in connection with the Namakkal kidney racket case.
“The health department has initiated the process for taking action against government doctors and other officials of the district authorisation committee in the Namakkal kidney racket case,” Ma Subramanian stated adding that the operation theatres of the two private hospitals in the racket has also been sealed and their organ retrieval license has been cancelled.
A few weeks ago a kidney racket case was unearthed in Namakkal district where a group of handloom workers were manipulated into selling their kidneys to repay debts. The health department formed a committee to probe the matter. Based on the report, the license of Tiruchy’s Cethar Hospital and Perambalur’s Dhanalakshmi Srinivasan Hospital were suspended for their alleged involvement in the kidney racket.
The Health Minister’s announcement comes a few days after the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Monday, expressed displeasure with the DMK-led government in the case.
In the court, the state government had argued that under the provisions of the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act, the police cannot file the final report and so the appropriate authority – the health department – must conduct the investigation.
The court however said that given the seriousness of the allegations, the state government was lacking in sensitivity. The court appointed a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the racket and file a progress report before the High Court within a month.